Irish native Martin Moore and his wife, Elizabeth Ann (White), left their Austin residences and prosperous Pecan (6th) Street mercantile business and moved to a farm north of town about 1850. Their 521-acre farm, which included this property, was inherited by Elizabeth in 1846. The Moore's built the original framework of these sensitively restored log structures and out buildings at this site as early as 1849. Although modified over the years, they represent a rare surviving example of local pioneer farmstead architecture.
The Moore's engaged in stock raising and farming and reared five children here, In 1866 Elizabeth Moore, by then widowed, sold this homestead tract to John Hancock, a prominent local judicial and political figure. Although Hancock never lived on the farm, it is believed that his former slave, Orange, and his family lived here in the late 1860s. Hancock's nephews, William and James, lived and worked on the farm at different times during the 1870s and 1880s. Franz Fiset purchased the farm in 1899. The structures were significantly altered by several subsequent owners before falling into disrepair by the mid-1980s. Major restoration of the complex was initiated following condemnation of the property by the city in 1987.
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